Devoted

Overview

Devoted: The Four Pillars of the Early Church

Recent research paints a sobering picture of American Christianity: while roughly three-quarters of Americans identify as Christian, less than a third practice their faith with any regularity, and nearly half of American adults can be described as "post-Christian." It is tempting, in response, to recast Jesus as a kind of life coach or spiritual trainer—someone who will toughen us up and make us "all in" for him. But that reframing gets the gospel exactly backwards. Jesus is not the trainer of your soul; he is the rescuer of your soul. He has freed us from sin, death, and the power of the devil, not with silver or gold, but with his holy and precious blood. God's love for us in Christ is not a conditional reward for spiritual performance—it is the unconditional ground from which the Christian life grows.

That same gospel is what shaped the astonishing community we read about in Acts 2:42-47. Luke tells us the believers "devoted themselves"—a Greek word meaning to hold fast, to persevere, to spend much time on something—to four things that function as pillars of the church:

• The apostles' teaching. The apostles were the eyewitnesses chosen by God to bear the truth of Jesus' life, miracles, death, and resurrection. Their testimony comes to us in the New Testament, and it remains the means by which the Spirit creates and strengthens faith—for "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" Romans 10:17.
• Fellowship. This was no governmental program of redistribution; it was a family caring for its own. The early believers found their identity not in modern individualism but in belonging to the body, sharing what they had so that no brother or sister went without.
• The breaking of bread. This certainly included the Lord's Supper, but also the simple sharing of meals from house to house. Around a common table, the believers learned one another, gave thanks, and tasted the unity Christ had given them.
• Prayer. Following Jesus' own pattern and his teaching in Matthew 6:5-8, the church prayed—seeking guidance, giving thanks, and receiving boldness to proclaim the good news. It is no accident that "the Lord added to their number day by day" as the believers prayed.

These four pillars are not a measuring stick to gauge whether we are devoted enough. They are an example of how the Holy Spirit grows and sustains the body of Christ. We dare not turn them into law. As Galatians 2:20 reminds us, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." Any genuine devotion in us is the fruit of Christ's prior devotion to us—a devotion that took him to the cross, down to hell, and through to victory over death and the devil for our sake.

So yes, we are called to be all in. But not as a condition God imposes before he will love us. We are called to devotion because the Holy Spirit has already gathered us, with all the saints, into the devoted body of Christ. The story of Acts is not finished; we are its continuation. Come, then, to the teaching, to the fellowship, to the table, and to prayer—not to earn anything, but because Christ in you is already drawing you home.

Transcript

Okay, we're going to start with some church statistics. 0s

Yes, statistics. 2s

But this is important. This is important to know and to think about this is from the 2016 4s

Barner Report on the state of the church. I looked everywhere. I have the state of the Bible in 2017, 10s

but they don't have the state of the church out yet. So this is 2016. 16s

73% of Americans identify as Christians, which is pretty good, right? 21s

Only 31% of those adults are considered to be practicing Christians, meaning someone who attends 26s

church service at least once a month. So 31% of those 73, 33s

attend a service once a month. 48% of American adults, that's almost half of them. 39s

Half of the American adult population are considered to be post-Christian. 46s

I saw that term. I thought, what is post-Christian? That doesn't make sense to me. 53s

But to qualify as someone who is post-Christian, you have to meet at least nine or more of these 59s

following criteria. You don't believe in God. Identify as atheists or agnostic. 67s

disagree that faith is important in their lives. Have not prayed to God in the last year. 73s

Have never made a commitment to Jesus. Disagree that the Bible is accurate. Have not donated money 79s

to a church in the last year. Have not attended a Christian church in the last year. They agree 86s

that Jesus committed sins. They don't feel a responsibility to share their faith. They've not read 93s

the Bible in the last week. Have not volunteered at church in the last week. Have not attended 99s

Sunday's school in the last week. Have not attended a religious small group in the last week 106s

or don't participate in a house church in the last year. Almost half of the American adult population 111s

is described to several of these beliefs. So if three quarters or almost three quarters of adults 121s

today claim their Christian and half of the adults today are post-Christian. There's some overlap 130s

there. There's a little bit of overlap there. 20% of adults claim no faith at all. That is one 140s

in every five person that you meet on the street. No faith at all. I'm not an mathematician, 151s

but I think that's correct statistic. It's shocking. Or maybe it's not all that shocking. 157s

I was listening to the radio this week. There was an interview with a Christian author. 167s

And the book he was selling was all about the problem that we have in American Christianity today 172s

and how we can get back to the roots of the Christian faith. So his book is all about 179s

getting back to the roots of the Christian faith. Now we can all agree. I think I assume 186s

that the church in America does have its problems. There is complacency. There's corruption. There's 192s

dysfunction. There's hypocrisy. And we can all find something to criticize about the church as a whole. 198s

I'm not talking about a specific congregation or even a specific denomination. I'm just talking 207s

about the big picture. We can all have something to criticize. And this Christian author had a 213s

two-prong plan. He had two parts. The first thing, his first point was to return to the early church 220s

of the book of Acts. And we're going to come back to this of course because that's our whole 226s

our whole message today is on the book of Acts. And the second point was to astonish our culture 231s

as the early believers astonished the Roman culture. So the point was that Christians seem to 237s

exist in this world just the same as everyone else, divorcing, curousing, not reading the Bible, 244s

so on and so forth. And we need to really shock our culture by being different. I get it. 252s

He does have a valid point. We are supposed to be in this world but not of this world. So that's 259s

okay. And then we look at his first point, returning to the early church in Acts. And we heard 265s

this morning, we heard it read the church in Acts. Those early believers as the author in the 273s

radio interview, he said they're all in. They were all in. And that's what we have to do too. We 282s

have to be all in. And that's when he started going down a really bizarre path. First he said that 288s

your church needs to train you to be a Navy seal for Jesus. Okay? But you need to train 297s

up for your soul. Like a coach. And I'm here to tell you, Jesus is not your coach. Jesus is not 305s

your coach. Second, and even more disturbing in the interview was when the host, I was yelling 315s

at my radio. When the host mentioned that God does not love you unconditionally, 321s

that he has divine love for you, but there are conditions attached. 327s

No. No. Jesus isn't a trainer of the soul. He is the rescuer of your soul. 335s

He is the secure of your soul. What a limit we put on Jesus, what an understatement we make 345s

when we just ask Jesus to train us. He has rescued you. He paid for you. He paid for your every 356s

breath for your every action and thought he bought you in full with his blood. He has freed 366s

us from sin, death, and the power of the devil, not with silver and gold, but with his holy 376s

and precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. Out of the small catacysin, you 382s

shocked the Roman culture. It was this very message that shocked the Jewish culture, 394s

and it was this good news that drew the early church together through the Holy Spirit. When we 402s

look at verses 42 and 46 in our act reading today, it says that the believers were devoted. 409s

In the Greek, this means that they held fast to something, that they were continuing and persevering, 417s

spending much time in doing whatever it was that they were devoted to. 425s

So what were they devoted to? They were devoted to four things. I like to kind of refer to these 433s

as the four pillars of the church. They were devoted to the Apostles teaching, to fellowship, 437s

to breaking of the bread, and to prayer. So let's look at these. We're going to break these down 443s

and unpack them a little bit. First of all, the Apostles teaching. The Apostles were the men of God 450s

or the men that God chose to reveal the events of His death and resurrection. These were the men 456s

that touched Jesus, that ate with Jesus, that prayed with Jesus. The people of the early church 463s

were the recipients of the Apostles' teachings and the Apostles taught what they knew. 472s

They taught of Jesus' life. They taught the truth of Jesus as the Messiah. They taught of their 480s

witness of His miracles, the witness of His ministry, the witness of His death, and the witness of 487s

Jesus after He had been raised from the dead. The New Testament is the compilation of the Apostles 495s

teachings. So we still learn from the Apostles today. Their teachings are their reports of what they 503s

witnessed and continue to be told every single day here now. There's a continuance of telling 512s

of their story again and again because there's a continued need to hear it. Each time we read or 521s

hear part of their witness something new is revealed to us through the Word. How many times have you 528s

heard the same story over and over again? And every time you say, I never thought about it like that. 536s

I never realized this, right? We're always learning something new. As Romans 10, 17 says, 544s

they comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word about Christ. We hear the 550s

Word of the Lord so that He may continue to create and strengthen faith. We like the early church 559s

are devoted to the Apostles' teachings because we, like the early church, need to know Jesus as his 566s

disciples knew Him personally. And so the believers of the early church would come together 574s

and they were devoted to learning and to hearing the teachings of the Apostles just as they were 582s

devoted to being in fellowship with one another. Fellowship, fellowship is all about sharing. 589s

It is participation in a common thing. In this reading we hear about the distribution of 598s

property and we kind of get lost in our own thoughts on this but we have to understand that the 607s

distribution of property and goods was not a forced governmental decree so we just don't even try 613s

to argue for or against distribution and redistribution because in our own understanding we have a 621s

political bias or a political bent that we try to read into the text but it's not in the text. 629s

It's not there. So the sharing of goods was a joint effort to pay for one another. Fellowship 638s

was all about the common care for the physical needs of the community and it was an important 645s

part of the church's life from the very beginning. The Apostles did not let the fellowship and 652s

the care over shadow prayer or ministry of the word but they did absolutely recognize the 660s

importance of it and they recognized it as a provision as a work that only the Holy Spirit could 667s

enable a man to rightly do. The unity of the community was similar to being a part of the family 675s

or a family and when we're part of a family we work to the good and the benefit of all of our 684s

brothers and sisters and this was true for the early church. In the modern Western world we we kind of 690s

see ourselves as reg agents. We see ourselves as people who can pursue our own interests and self 698s

development with or without the endorsement of a collective whether that is family, our country, 704s

our church, anything. In pre-modern times and even today in some underdeveloped countries people 712s

find identity and meaning not in their own individualism but in being a member of or a part of 721s

a community. When we read of the fellowship and community and acts we're reading Luke's 731s

pre-supposition that identity was found within the community of the new believers. The fellowship 736s

was a family's. Women were not excluded which sounds fine to us but that was radical in that 743s

day and age and these people would come together and they would break bread from house to house 753s

as a community in fellowship with one another. So then we get to that devotion of that breaking of bread 760s

and sometimes in this acts reading we read into it our holy separate communion and that isn't wrong 768s

that's not wrong it's not a bad reading because the meal certainly could have included communion 776s

in that group of believers but the breaking of bread was also the family meal. It was that the 782s

believers ate together. They shared a meal. What's the first thing that pops into our head when we 789s

want to learn about another culture or we want to get to know someone better what do we do? 798s

We go to eat. We go to eat what food do these people eat right? We identify through our food. 804s

We experience other people other cultures through food and what do we do while we're eating 813s

hopefully not with a full mouth. We talk. We talk. We learn about the people at our table even if it's 821s

our own kids and our spouse. We're still learning about that person. We're learning how they 829s

function in this world what they think, how they feel and we're getting to know that person 836s

we gather around a common meal and we find commonality with one another through that food and we get 841s

thanks for the food provided and this is where we come to prayer being devoted to prayer. 850s

The believers of the early church they would have been very accustomed to praying because in the 859s

Jewish culture there were appointed hours of prayer they would go to synagogue and pray. So there's 866s

nothing extraordinary about praying and being devoted to prayer but the early believers were 872s

influenced by Jesus. They remembered Jesus praying. They knew that he would set time to go and pray 880s

and be with the Father. He also would have be alone praying centering his life in communion with 889s

the Father in that prayer. They remembered him praying. He also challenged people in their prayer. 899s

He challenged people who made a spectacle of their prayer praying for the show of it. I love the 906s

story, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18 where the Pharisee makes this great 913s

show of his righteous prayer. praying, I am so grateful. I give my money. I'm so grateful. I am not like 919s

this sinner and he makes this big show of it and Jesus says no. That's not right. If you turn to 929s

Bible at the New Testament it starts over with page one. I didn't expect that. So on page five in Matthew, 943s

if you go to Matthew chapter six verses five through eight, let me give you a second to get there. 951s

Jesus teaches about praying. He said, and when you pray do not be like the hypocrites. 965s

For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others, 974s

truly I tell you they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, 980s

close the door and pray to your father who is unseen. Then your father who sees what is done in 987s

secret will reward you. And when you pray do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they 993s

will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your father knows what you need 999s

before you ask him. And then he taught his disciples the very prayer that we pray every single week. 1005s

Perhaps every single day we call it the Lord's prayer. When Jesus cleansed the temple, 1015s

he made a point of saying that his father's house was to be a house of prayer. He affirmed 1023s

the Jewish practice of corporate prayer. He affirmed our now Christian practice of praying with one another. 1031s

The prayers of the believers of the early church, they offered them to Jesus. They were praying 1040s

for guidance. They were praying for help. They were giving thanks to Jesus for salvation. They knew 1047s

that prayer had a purpose and they knew that Jesus would listen to them. And the time spent in prayer 1053s

gave the people of the church the boldness to go out and proclaim the Word of God. 1062s

As we continue in this sermon series through the book of Acts, we're going to get to chapter 4. 1070s

And it says that the gathering place was shaking and being filled with the Holy Spirit in order 1076s

that the believers would have boldness to proclaim the good news. 1082s

Verse 47 that we had today of our reading says the Lord added to their number day by day, 1089s

if he was adding to their number, that meant that someone was bold enough to speak to people. 1095s

It meant that the Holy Spirit was working through that prayer, answering that prayer, 1104s

giving them strength to go and share the good news. The early church was devoted to these actions, 1110s

these pillars, the teachings, the fellowship, the bread, the prayers. In our lives, in our church, 1119s

we want action and we want direction. We want that list of to do's. And here's that list. 1129s

Here's what we can enlist ourselves to be devoted to, but we cannot use these pillars of the church 1137s

as a measuring stick. Am I devoted enough? Do I pray enough? Do I share a meal enough? Do I 1145s

listen and learn enough? These pillars are set before us as an example of the early church. 1152s

There are before us as an example of how the Holy Spirit worked in and through the believers. 1160s

There are testament to God showing us how he grew and strengthened the body of believers 1166s

through the power of His Word amongst the people. But we can never forget that like the old church, 1173s

like the early church, we are only devoted because Christ first devoted Himself to us. 1183s

We're only devoted to these four pillars of the church because it is Christ in us. It is His 1191s

spirit that brings about the desire to pray, to fellowship, to learn more, to share a meal. 1198s

If it were up to me, in my own selfish desires, I might be sitting at home in a recliner, 1207s

watching a movie and eating popcorn. Truth be told. But as Galatians 20 says, it says, 1214s

2020, it says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. 1223s

And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave 1230s

Himself for me. It is because of Christ who lives in me that I can't wait to be with my community, 1236s

of faith, my faith family. I can't wait to share another meal to attend one more Sunday 1244s

school lesson to pray with you and for you. It is Christ in me that draws me into His body with 1251s

all the saints of the church. The book of Acts is the story of the church but the story hasn't ended. 1260s

It's not over. We are the extension of that story and it will continue through until with all 1268s

of creation we are brought to the full and complete restoration in Christ Jesus. 1276s

So we don't look at the early church and say, meet. What a cool thing for those people. That's great. 1284s

Because we are still those people, we too can be devoted to teachings, to fellowship, 1292s

to breaking a bread and to prayer. Those practices did not die with the early apostles. 1300s

The author that I spoke of listening to on the radio was correct. The early believers were 1306s

absolutely all in. They were absolutely and completely devoted but they were all in because 1315s

Jesus had already been all in. Jesus devotion took him to the cross. Jesus devotion 1324s

was a dissension to hell and Jesus devotion won victory over death. One victory over the devil 1335s

for you. We like the early church are also called to be all in but not as a condition set by God. 1345s

We are called to be devoted because the Holy Spirit has already called you and gathered you 1357s

along with all the saints into the devoted body of Christ. Amen. 1365s